Brussels, 12/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - The strategy proposed by the European Commission on Tuesday 12 April for encouraging the development of smart grids is built on putting in place EU-wide technical standards and respect for consumers' privacy. It also makes provision for a regulatory framework, measures to ensure competitive services to consumers and initiatives to support R&D and innovation.
Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, opening Sustainable Energy Week on Tuesday 12 April, revealed the main points of a communication on smart grids published on that same day. With their aim of ensuring an economically efficient and sustainable energy system, smart grids should reduce energy losses and improve security of supply, integrating the behaviour and action of generators and consumers.
The Commission begins by setting out plans to monitor more closely the development of common smart grid standards, which European standards bodies have been asked to devise since March 2009. In view of the time lost, the Commission has promised to intervene to ensure that the standards are in place by the deadlines set, by the end of 2012. In addition to putting in place a regulatory framework for smart grids, the Commission intends to make sure that, as standards are defined, appliances are adapted to smart grids. Furthermore, it will monitor developments at European and national levels on ICT standards to facilitate implementation of smart grids.
The Commission then sets out legal and regulatory provisions to ensure consumer privacy. It intends to monitor the provisions of national sectoral legislation that might apply to take into account the data protection specificities of smart grids. European standardisation bodies will develop technical standards for smart grids taking the “privacy by design” approach. The Commission will continue bringing together the energy and ICT communities in an expert group to assess the network and information security and resilience of smart grids and support related international cooperation.
Thirdly, the Commission looks at regulatory incentives to encourage grid operators to generate income more through efficiency savings than through selling more. For this, the Commission makes provision for amendment of Directive 2006/32/EC on energy services and developing a regulatory framework for smart grids. It will establish guidelines to define a methodology for the smart meter implementation plans of member states. Over and above the targets for smart meters in the Third Package on liberalisation of the internal market, the Commission will request member states to produce action plans with targets for the implementation of smart grids. Through its role in the Regional Initiatives and its involvement in ENTSO-E (European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity), the Commission will encourage and promote coordinated action towards the deployment of smart grids at European and regional level.
In order to ensure competitive services to consumers, the Commission is planning two initiatives: - revision of the directive on energy services with a view to setting minimum requirements for the format and content of information provision for customers, and for access to information services and demand management (e.g. in-house control of consumption); - monitoring implementation of the Third Package requirements needed to create a transparent and competitive retail market.
The Commission also intends to provide greater support for innovation and smart grid technology. During the course of 2011, the Commission will propose additional new large-scale demonstration initiatives for rapid Smart Grids deployment, taking into account the needs identified in the EEGI (European Energy Grids Initiative), established under the SET Plan for energy technologies. According to the EEGI, almost €2 billion will be needed between 2010 and 2018 for smart grid research. The Commission will also launch the initiative Smart Cities and Communities this year. (E.H./transl.rt)